Meet Rod Alderink!
Rod Alderink joined the NAI Wisinski of West Michigan team in 2006 and has over 37 years of commercial real estate experience under his belt. As a West Michigan native, he could not think of a better place to serve his community.
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What was your Major/Minor in college? Is there any sort of correlation to where you are now?
I went to Calvin College in Grand Rapids and got a degree in General Business. Before graduation, I worked a summer for one of my current clients whose father-in-law worked for a real estate company. Later that year, that friend called and asked what I was going to do after graduation and offered me an interview. We hit it off, and I started working for them just days after graduating. I have been doing commercial real estate in Grand Rapids/West Michigan ever since!
Why did you select to work in the office and retail sectors of commercial real estate?
I have clients across all disciplines, but I was naturally drawn to retail because I worked for a retailer in Hudsonville during high school. My clients evolved into having retail centers and office buildings, and I’ve represented retail tenants nationally and locally. It kind of evolved into that sort of business on it’s own. However, I do have clients in the industrial area that I service when their needs arise.
What does a typical “day-in-the-life” look like for you?
That’s the amazing thing, and that’s probably why I’ve been in the business for as long as I’ve been – Everyday is different. We are always balancing the need for properties coming in the door, and then of course marketing those properties to find tenants or buyers. It’s a balancing act of those two because you need listings and clients to fill those listings. You must work both of those angles at the same time.
In your opinion, what is the hardest part of commercial real estate?
One of hardest parts of commercial real estate is balancing those two things all the time. Early on in your career it’s hard to get listings since you don’t have a lot of relationships yet. In my stage of the career that’s a lot easier as I have a lot more relationships now than when I was younger. But I think the hardest thing is the cyclical-ness of our economy. When the macroeconomy changes the way it has in the last year, you’re working hard but there are factors beyond your control such as interest rates, lack of available work force, etc.
If you were not doing commercial real estate in West Michigan, is there any other city that you could see yourself working in?
Well, I would love to work in Southwest Florida in the winter time, but no, I was born and raised in West Michigan and grew up here. I love the family atmosphere, and I love the kindness to which West Michigan is known for. I think it’s a great place. I love the state of Michigan – we have so many fun things to do here. I can’t think of a better place to work than the West Michigan area. There are a lot of people who operate from a position of integrity and have an underlying belief system to do what is right and treat people fairly – The Golden Rule. It truly is a great place to do business!!
What is your best advice for college graduates entering the work force? Would you recommend a career in CRE to them?
If you are looking for an opportunity where you work for yourself, set your own hours, and have flexibility to meet people, yes. If you want a great career where you can earn a good living and serve your clients, it’s a very fulfilling task. You meet great people and wonderful mentors, for not only business but life in general. For somebody that is younger that needs flexibility for their family, we don’t punch a clock so there is a lot of room for that. We have great colleagues and great competitors in the market that we work with day in and day out. What I would suggest to somebody who is starting out is that you have to find work where you have great people on the client side and great colleagues on the employee side.
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Click the link below to contact Rod for all of your commercial real estate needs!